Back to 1979: Sending the Educated Youth’s Wife Back to the City

Chapter 87 Want a Tea Stall
Fang Minghua really thought so.

If it was a job in the city assigned after graduation, he probably wouldn't be able to do it.

But what's so difficult about just setting up a tea stall? Besides, wasn't the second brother also an illegal resident in the capital for the past few months?

It would be the same if I went there, I would be no worse than him.

Anyway, he will not have time to set up a stall after he gets admitted to university. So wouldn't it be a good idea to transfer the business to myself?
Father Fang said, "You heard him say it's easy! Do you know the ins and outs of this? If you don't believe me, wait until he comes out of the shower and ask him. If it was really that easy, wouldn't all the 40 educated youths who returned from the capital set up tea stalls?"

Are you still waiting for me, far away, and want to follow my example?

Fang Minghua nodded and prepared to wait for his brother to come out of the shower and ask him carefully. It's better to give it to him than to someone else.

Yuan Shufen was also a little tempted. They had three children to raise.

If I can take over my second brother's tea stall, then what is there to worry about? The two of us can earn more than 100 yuan a month, and I don't have to ask my mother-in-law for money for everything.

In the summer, people wash their hair and take showers very quickly, mainly to absorb the sweat. Fang Mingche washed his hair in no time, and then washed his clothes and hung them up to dry.

Then I came out and taught my family how to make roast duck rolls.

When he sat at the table, he found that his sister-in-law had quickly picked cucumbers and leek seedlings, and cut them into cucumber strips and leek seedlings according to the ones he brought back.

This is because Fang's father saw that his son brought back more meat than vegetables. He thought that with so many people in the family, it would not be enough to eat all the meat, so he asked his eldest daughter-in-law to prepare it.

Fang Mingche nodded, "Well, let's just eat fresh ones."

He sat down and taught his family how to wrap the meat, cucumber strips and chives, then brush them with sauce and roll them up.

"That's how we eat it. Sister-in-law will use the duck bones to make soup later."

Yuan Shufen nodded, "Okay."

"You guys eat first, I'll send it to Brother Mingfeng's house. Dad, keep this bottle of Moutai (bought on the black market) for yourself."

The wine was taken out from the house just now. Ah Yan wrapped it with two layers of foam to prevent shock and fall.

Father Fang picked it up and looked at it. "Moutai, the national liquor! I have to keep it here. I can't bear to drink it during the Chinese New Year."

"It's available on the black market. You can buy it if you have money. When my acceptance letter arrives, you can open it and try it. If it tastes good, I'll buy it for you later."

Fang Mingche said as he picked up the roast duck and the navy skirt he bought for his cousin's daughter and went over.

When he got there, his cousin hadn't finished get off work yet. His second uncle, second aunt, and cousin's wife were all very welcoming, repeatedly asking him to sit down and eat before going back.

"No, I think my elder brother seems to have something to say to me. Come back another day after the exam."

When he came back, the whole family was eating roast duck. Because of the bad weather, we had to eat it quickly after opening it. And there was no refrigerator, so we had to finish it tonight.

However, with four big dishes and three small ones, you can finish them in one meal without any pressure.

Fang Kang was a little unfamiliar with his second uncle before. But now that he got new clothes and ate the roast duck brought back by his second uncle, he felt very close to him.

He looked up and said, "Uncle, it's delicious."

Fang Mingche saw that his mouth was covered with sauce and laughed. "If it tastes good, eat more."

Father Fang took out the admission ticket that his eldest son had received from the cram school two days ago and placed it neatly inside the almanac.

"Here, this is yours. Keep it well—"

If you lose this thing, you can't enter the exam room. In the past two years, there have been people who failed the exam every year because of this. It even made the news!

Fang Mingche nodded, put it in the Xinhua Dictionary in the room, leaving a corner exposed, and then put the dictionary in a prominent position on the desk.

When he came out, Fang Minghua said, "Second brother, now that you've been admitted to university, you can't run the tea stall by yourself anymore, right?"

Since the study conditions in the capital are much better, I should be able to pass the exam this year.

Fang Mingche asked: "Do you want to take over?"

If there is a stall in Dazhalan, I can take my brother and sister-in-law to look after the stall. Just do what Zhu Dahai did! Eat the meat myself and give my brother and sister-in-law some soup. As long as they can learn Mandarin well.

But the problem is that individual business owners don’t have stalls!
The same car stall with a few square meters of area can provide four or five jobs for state-owned or collective units. How can you, an individual business owner, get a turn?

Fang Minghua's eyes lit up and he leaned forward slightly, "Yes."

Fang Mingche spread his hands, "No chance. When I went there, stalls were set up randomly around Tiananmen Square. Because there was no job for the returned educated youth. I pretended to be a returned educated youth and went to set up a stall with Yan. Your Mandarin is not standard at all, so you can't pretend. With your dialect, people will know that you are a migrant worker or an illegal resident. We will send you back to your hometown when the time comes."

This is indeed a problem.

Fang Minghua said: "You didn't learn Mandarin from anyone. You could speak it before you married Lin Yan."

Fang Mingche pointed in the direction of the tweeter and said, "I learned it by listening to the radio. Yanyan listened to the radio and her mother, so she could speak authentic Mandarin with a Beijing accent. That's how we were able to stay in the capital smoothly. And, I'm talking about the situation when we first went there in February. Now, stalls are not allowed in the square. All the vendors have been moved to the designated locations in the Dashilan nearby. Moreover, self-employed people like me don't have stalls at all."

"Then how can you still set up a stall?"

"It's always good to be prepared for danger. I knew early on that if street vendors became popular, they would definitely be rectified. After all, that place is Tiananmen Square, and it can't be too noisy. So, I taught myself some English that I could use for business and worked as a translator for the handicraft cooperative. They had to rely on me to negotiate business with foreign tourists. That's why they were willing to rent a space for a car stall in their own stall for me. The rent was 30 yuan a month! So, if you want to go to the capital to make money, you must first overcome the language barrier. You should learn Mandarin by listening to the radio."

Fang Minghua and Yuan Shufen nodded. If they were going to the capital, they really had to be able to speak Mandarin. Otherwise, how could they continue to work as criminals?
Father Fang was surprised and asked, "You can even talk to foreigners?"

"I can say the simple ones, but not the complicated ones."

Father Fang looked at his eldest son and said, "There must be something fishy going on here." However, he was still very proud of his youngest son, who was doing well in the capital. If he could get into college, he would see who would dare to say that his second son had a problem with his brain.

Fang's mother ate a roast duck roll, but she didn't eat it even though she liked it very much. She looked at her eldest daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

If there is something good at home, it is natural to leave it for the master and grandchildren to eat. It is good enough for women to have a share of it.

Yuan Shufen and Fang Fang had no choice but to stop. They hadn't eaten meat for many years, so eating this roast duck was so delicious.

Yuan Shufen stood up and said, "I'll go cook, Fang Fang, light the fire for me."

"Okay." Fang Fang quickly wiped her hands and was about to get up to work.

She is a girl and must be obedient and prudent at home, otherwise her grandmother will not like her very much.

(End of this chapter)